


Nott afraid of a fight

by Jamesneatojourney



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, caleb is a protective worried thing and he deserves the world, nott is an insecure lil thing and she deserves the world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 04:56:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13356966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jamesneatojourney/pseuds/Jamesneatojourney
Summary: Nott and Caleb have a hard time defending themselves.ok, lets be real. there's 1 episode out. I am desperate for that good content so I gave a try at whatever happened to these two the day before we catch them at the inn. Im curious to see what their actual deal is, but for now there's this. Writing these characters are not the simplest of tasks.





	Nott afraid of a fight

Nott gripped her short sword painfully tight, fighting a tremble in her fist . These people were much larger than her, not that it was a shock at all. But they were angry, and loud, and they didn't like goblins much. Caleb stood up for her, as he does, but didn't expect just how many of them liked to hang about these parts unseen. It's not like they can call for much help, these people could claim that Nott had stolen something and nobody would doubt them. It was a sickeningly reality of staying in these parts. But for now, they had no choice, they had to defend themselves on their own. And so the two of them stood against the sneering degenerates that were still so intent on doing gods know what to them both. She had her back to Caleb, and his to hers. 

After what felt like hours of running and fighting, they had shaken them off until the group was somehow down to 2, but by now Nott was heaving breaths she knew Caleb could still hear over the pouring rain. Caleb, on the other hand, was visibly drained. His shoulders hung low, head lolled to the side with a hazy stare held at the elven woman that still held a heavy looking (and heavy feeling) wooden baton. He’s done what he could, but he’s done on magic for now. Nott stared up at the man by her, a stocky, yet shorter human looking one, wearing a well used looking set of brass knuckles. 

For a moment, they all just stood, catching their breath, waiting. Nott glanced back at the woman staring Caleb down, she was saying something, but she didn't know what. She quickly shifted her view back to the man in front of her. Ready to make her final stand, she firmly planting her feet onto the wet stone of the small side street. But before she could start the lunge forward, she heard a crack followed by a shaky groan.

There was a dull thud as Caleb crumpled onto the rain-soaked stonework, blood starting to well out of a angry gash on his forehead. Nott’s vision went...Red? Not sure. Green, probably not. But it went, nonetheless. She looked back at the ugly, angry man, who was rearing back to swing a heavy brass knuckle clad punch. With a quick flick of her arm, her small crossbow she kept in her cloak was up. The man’s eyes widened just in time for the bolt to sink into one of them, going deep and cutting off the man's frightened gasp into a pained gurgle, then silence.

Dropping the crossbow, she turned to the woman who had a foot planted on Caleb's back and was digging her heel harshly between his shoulder blades. She paused, clearly noticing the man dead at the feet of the tiny, rain soaked goblin with wild yellow eyes. Nott raised her short sword, and screamed. Nothing eloquent, nothing powerful or mighty, just the angry shriek of a frenzied creature who was prepared to do anything at that exact moment.

The woman ran. 

Nott crouched beside Caleb, nervously stuttering, afraid to touch him. She isn’t adept to taking care of her own wounds, let alone those of others. She can’t even tell how bad it is. Nott sprung up and ran over to the still warm body of the dead short man. She deftly sifted through his belongings, muttering quiet pleads as she tossed his belongings aside. 

“Ok, here we are! Alright Caleb, I found one. Its small, but, but I can’t really afford nothing nicer.”

She delicately cradled the small potion as she crouched back down by Caleb, who was still in and out of consciousness. Nott fumbled with the wax seal, and finally managed to rip the cork out with her teeth. Nott held the bottle towards Caleb’s pale, bloody face.

“Uhh, Caleb? I-I don't know, y’know, how i'm sposed to go about this, but I think you gotta drink this.”

Caleb's eyes opened the slightest bit, foggy and unfocused. 

“Oh! You're up. Ok, so maybe drink this?” 

Moments after his eyes opened, the pain and exhaustion came back to him all at once. Wincing, he let out a strangled groan and closed his eyes again

“Nononono you gotta be awake for it don’t you?” Nott started, beginning to panic and babble,

“I don't know how this stuff works Caleb, if you gotta say a thing, or, or, do a thing before you do it i’m not gonna know and it's gonna go all wrong. I’m no good at this.”

Seeing the blood continue to flow down his face, Nott grew impatient,anxious of whether the elven woman would return. And more so, who all she’d return with.

“Fine. If this don’t work, I’m gonna have to find somewhere to drag you. Like a doctor, or a farm, or someplace with nice folk. I can drag you to someones door maybe? Folks would be nice to you, I mean why wouldn't they?” 

Nott pushed on Caleb's shoulder to get him to roll onto his back, then crouched behind him, pushing heavily in an attempt to get him to sit up. After some fumbling, and a couple near spills of the bottle, she got him upright, and forced the bottle into his hand. 

“Ok. good. Now, uh, drink.”

Caleb stared heavily at the small bottle of thick liquid, and glanced up to Nott, whose sopping wet cloak sat frumpy and heavy on her small shoulders. Caleb winced, but gingerly brought the bottle up and drank the mix down, letting his arm fall limp to his side and the empty bottle clatter across the stone. Caleb shut his eyes and took a heavy breath, feeling the throbbing fog in his head clear not entirely, but enough to be able to focus on anything going on. When he opened his eyes, he looked into the terrified, expectant face of his small traveling companion.

“It work? Are you,” she gestured awkwardly, “feeling better or anything?”

Caleb smiled, ignoring the aching pains that felt like they ran all the way to the bone.

“Very much so, I think anyway. thank you Nott. How about you, are you ok?” 

Nott paused, shrugging and looking herself over disingenuously.

“Yeah, i’m ok. Dont think its safe to be outside today though. The folks out here are far angrier than expected.”

Caleb nodded, and was about to respond when he abruptly paused, a worried look crossing his face. Nott followed his gaze to the dead man in the alley, then looked back to Caleb. He was now fervently looking her over, a look of intense fear taking him over,

“Wait, what all happened? Where’d the woman go? Did you fight them both alone?”

Nott tensed, then quickly relaxed. Caleb's tone was stern, but she reminded herself it wasn’t him being angry. Protective worry was something that Caleb has had a hell of a time explaining to her. Admittedly, she is still having a hard time adapting to someone showing such intense, sincere care towards her.

“They're gone, and i’m ok, Caleb. Really I am. Lets just, lets just get inside for now.”

Caleb sighed, still concerned, but in agreement with Nott. Whoever they were, they absolutely will be back if the two of them don’t find somewhere to stay. Luckily, the side street they had the misfortune of being caught in was only 3 buildings down from an inn. 

Hauling himself upright, Caleb took a deep breath before pointing at the inn,

“We stay there today, figure out what we do tomorrow. Does that sound ok?”

Nott jerked a nod and started gathering up her dropped things, including her crossbow and 2 pieces of silver that Nott had tossed aside when rifling through the dead man’s pockets. She handed the silver to him, ignoring his confused look as she forced them into his hand.

“Inns take coin, yeah? They don’t want a goblins money, you know that”

Caleb took them, but gave Nott a sad look. Nott secured the awkward porcelain mask on herself and adjusted her hood, readying her disguise for the assumedly busy inn. Although she wasn’t looking at him, she could feel his sad stare.

Walking into the inn, they both blinked at the sudden onslaught of loud people and loud music. They slowly ambled their way up to the front, and Caleb leaned in close, asking for an empty room.

“Ah, yea we have one upstairs. So what do we got? This more of a short duration, one bed kind of visit?” 

The woman at the bar winked at Caleb, before glancing down at what she must have thought to be a bashful modest halfling, not a terrified, goblin in disguise. Caleb was exhausted, but still felt a bitter disgust for the assumption the woman was working under. He sighed, trying to ignore the burning pains his body continued to remind him of. He held out some coin and waited for her to grab them,

“One room for 2 nights please ma’am.”

\-----

Caleb needed help getting up the stairs, but he’s still in better shape than he was moments ago in the alley. Keeping a hand firmly held on Notts shoulder, they slowly scaled the steps to their modest room. Nott helped Caleb get to the bed and eased him down onto it.

“We can figure everything out tomorrow Caleb. Just, uh, try and sleep off your wounds I guess.”

Caleb nodded delicately as he laid back and shut his eyes, almost immediately falling asleep.

Nott went to the door and check the locks. They will do for now, but truth be told, the door itself would be easy enough to remove, let alone a simple lock. The window was facing the main road, so Nott made a point to draw the curtain and not get close to it afterwards. For another 20 minutes she thought up every way she could think of an elven woman sneaking into their room. For another 30, how to stop her from doing it, and a final 15, how she’d kill her for hurting Caleb like she did.

After an hour of nervous pacing turned anxious limping, Nott finally let herself crawl onto the foot of the bed, sure that she had thought of everything, and that she’d be ready for anything. Except for tieflings. How do you handle them? Another 10 minutes wide eyed sitting on the bed helped her remember the tieflings motion based detection. She remembered sneaking into a temple of Sarenrae feed for poor and homeless children, and while there a storyteller had told her that. ‘Ya dun move a muscle!’ he’d stressed, ‘Ya stay still, and they dun find ya. Ya move? Ya they food.’

Finally satisfied, she curled onto herself as tightly as possible, playing the events of the evening over and over until she finally sank into a stressful, but heavy sleep.


End file.
